Lucas: March 22 Flashback

By Adam Lucas

P.J. Hairston got most of the attention after Carolina's 78-71 win over Villanova in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on March 22, 2013, but it was Reggie Bullock who did the best job of summarizing the moment.

The victory over the Wildcats was important because it preserved Williams' personal streak of having never lost his opening NCAA Tournament game, and it was important for that year's team because it advanced them into a matchup with Kansas for the second straight year. The eighth-seeded Tar Heels would fall to the top-seeded Jayhawks two days later, the third time in six seasons the season would end against Kansas.

But the win was also important because it was Williams' 700^th career victory. The team presented the head coach with a Carolina jersey bearing the number 700 after the game, with Reggie Bullock covertly scrawling "700" on the locker room white board where Williams usually writes the number of teams remaining in the tournament.

Immediately after the game, in a mostly empty locker room, Bullock reflected on being able to be part of the moment. A Kinston native, Bullock grew up a Tar Heel fan, indoctrinated by his grandmother, Patricia Williams, who was instrumental in raising him. They would watch the games together and cheer wildly for the Tar Heels.

Patricia Williams had died two months before the game against Villanova, an emotional loss for Bullock. Roy Williams and Steve Robinson had traveled to Kinston to attend her funeral, delaying their travel with the team to a game at Virginia in order to pay their respects. Just as Patricia Williams would have wanted it, when her grandson rejoined the team in Charlottesville, he arrived bearing a takeout bag of King's Barbecue, well aware of the head coach's affinity for the Kinston staple.

So Bullock appreciated the significance of being there for his coach's milestone win. But he more appreciated—even seven years ago and despite the usual short perspective of a college student—the impact his coach had on his life.

"It was very important to me to be able to give Coach that jersey," Bullock said that day in Kansas city. "He was the one who believed in me and was willing to welcome me in at Carolina. He's seen how much I've been through with my family. He's told me he believes I'm one of the strongest athletes he's coached because of the way I have fought through adversity. Coach Williams is one of the most important adults in my life."

Also on March 22

1957: Pete Brennan made one of the most important shots in Carolina history, a length of the court dash capped with a jumper that forced a second overtime against Michigan State in the 1957 Final Four (back before it was even called the Final Four). The two teams would eventually play one more overtime, with the Tar Heels prevailing in triple OT, 74-70.

Carolina would win the national championship the very next day with another triple overtime win, this one against Wilt Chamberlain and Kansas.

1985: Kenny Smith scored 22 points to lead Carolina over Auburn in Birmingham in the regional semifinal. Warren Martin had 12 points off the bench.

1991: In an East Region that saw multiple upsets, the top-seeded Tar Heels defeated 12^th-seeded Eastern Michigan in the regional semifinal, 93-67. Pete Chilcutt and Hubert Davis each scored 18 points and Eric Montross added 17 in a reserve role. Davis made all five of his three-point attempts.

2013: Also part of the above-mentioned weekend in Kansas City, Lennie Rosenbluth made an unforgettable return to Municipal Auditorium for the first time since he played in the 1957 title game, and it was an honor to be there with him.

2019: Iona made ten three-pointers in the first half and led by five points at the break, but top-seeded Carolina eventually outlasted the 16th-seeded Gaels behind 19 points from Nassir Little. The postgame column from that first round game.

Players Mentioned

Nassir Little

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